DOCTOR WHO - MAN OF FLAME
by That Writing Guy
Summary: There's a fire in London. One that can't be put out with regular water. The Doctor and Rose go to investigate and find something from the Doctor's past. Something he wanted to forget. Something close.
1. Chapter 1 - Burning in London

**CHAPTER ONE****  
BURNING IN LONDON**

The TARDIS took off, the ground shaking beneath Rose's sneakers. The Doctor, with his shaven black hair, leather jacket, big ears, and cold eyes, stared at the screen where Harriet Jones was conversing with generals about the failed Slitheen attack.  
Rose, naturally feeling tired about having just stopped World War III, decided she would like some deserved sleep. She looked to the Doctor, who was typing around the TARDIS console, flipping switches and levers as the giant tube like mechanism in the middle of the console moved up and down making that wheezing groaning sound.  
'Is there a bed in this place?' Rose asked.  
The Doctor looked at her. 'Yeah… hold on a sec!'  
He ran to the other side of the console, punched in a control on a keypad and looked one of the walls. A small panel opened and a small bed popped out.  
'Really..?' Rose asked, unbelieving.  
'What?' the Doctor asked, somewhat confused about the tone in Rose's voice.  
'I'm supposed to sleep… in here… where there's a giant machine… which makes a sound that would wake the dead..?' Rose asked.  
The Doctor looked at the bed, back at Rose, and then at the bed again. 'What's so wrong with it? I've done it before!'  
'Well, you're… alien… and you've done stranger things than I have!'  
'Is that your great comeback?'  
'Maybe...'  
The Doctor beamed. 'Oh Rose Tyler,' he said.  
A small beeping sound came from one of the other panels. The Doctor ran to it and began investigating.  
'Well Rose, looks like you'll have to rest later…'  
'Why?' Rose asked, partially exhausted and partially annoyed.  
''Cause there's a fire going in London, and guess what?'  
'We're investigating it?'  
The Doctor tapped her on the nose, saying 'On the nose!', and ran out of the TARDIS. Rose chuckled. 'Better than yours,' she said, following him.

Outside, firemen were extinguishing the inferno engulfing a building. Water sprayed out, entering the shattered windows. The Doctor stepped out of the alley into the chilly night. 'Oh this is lovely!' he said dimly, looking around at the flashing lights.  
An officer with a black mustache walked up. 'Who the hell are you?' he asked, his eyebrows furrowing into what seemed to be one. The Doctor held up his psychic paper, not taking his eyes off of the burning building.  
The officer's eyes scanned the paper and he instantly backed off. 'Chief McDaniel, I apologise. I'd never heard of you before. You must work the filings and such.'  
'Oh, you have no idea. Now, tell me officer…'  
'Matthews, sir.'  
'Matthews. Where did that fire come from?'  
'No one knows sir. It just randomly appeared. People in the apartment say that it just started in the basement and soon it was on the third floor. People estimated the time between basement and third floor was half-a-minute.'  
'Half-a-min… I see. Rose, follow me!'  
Rose began walking with him. Officer Matthews ran up and stopped them. 'Chief McDaniel, apologies sir, but you can't go in there! Anyone who does is a madman!'  
'So I fit the description perfectly is what you're saying?' the Doctor said.  
'Please Chief, at least spare the girl,' Officer Matthews said, gesturing to Rose.  
The Doctor looked her over with those serious eyes and nodded. 'Very well Officer. Rose, you stay here.'  
'But Doc… McDaniel… I wanna go too!'  
'I can't risk you getting hurt Rose! If you die… things will change… and they won't be for the better. Now please, go stand in the TARDIS, and wait. Don't be a hero, don't be an adventurer. Be smart and wait for me.'  
He handed her the TARDIS key and began walking to the missing doorframe. Smoke trailed out and into the sky. The Doctor felt the heat against his brow, but closed his eyes and took a deep breath, stepping into the inferno.  
'Your friend's crazy,' Officer Matthews said. 'Who are you: His partner?'  
'Eh, you could say that.'  
She began walking back to the TARDIS, the key in hand. She inserted it into the lock and stepped inside, Officer Matthews squinting at it in confusion until he was called off by Chief Ferrell.

The basement was filled with smoke and flames. The basement door had been blown off its hinges, leaving splintered pieces of wood around the door frame. The Doctor had just started breaking a sweat from the heat. He scanned the burning furnace with his sonic screwdriver and looked at the details of the flame.  
'An unnatural flame… can only be put out with the waters hidden on the planet Luxbureous.'  
The Doctor looked around the smoke covered basement and was immediately grateful for his Time Lord lungs. He thought about any items that could start an unnatural flame such as this… a source that could set off a fire that could spread three floors in only thirty seconds. Nothing came to mind except some peaceful alien races or extinct alien races.  
He began stepping out of the basement and turned around as he heard cracking. The top of the basement fell and turned into rubble. The roof above him started falling as well, flames breaking through the floorboards. His eyes widened as the boards started breaking into black flakes and pieces.  
The Doctor ran to the open door and leaped out, hitting the concrete on his side. The whole building was collapsed now. He wiped the sweat from his wrinkled forehead and saw the firemen going down. Rose was on the street now, looking at the falling building.  
'What are you doing?' he asked.  
'The TARDIS said the building was about to fall. I wanted to make sure you made it out.'  
'C'mon Rose, it's me.'  
'I know. That's why I wanted to make sure.'  
There was a smell of gasoline. The Doctor and Rose looked around, as did all the other officers and men in the area.  
The Doctor looked at a car, fire engulfing it.  
'WATCH OU' was all he got out as he hit the ground, covering Rose. Fire was spread randomly on his jacket and shrapnel scraped the fire, sending white marks of heat. Rose's ears were ringing, but the Doctor heard the crashing of cars and the shattering of windows. He breathed in smoke and unsteadily got up, looking to the exploded car. Cop cars were turned over as were the fire trucks.  
Fire was spouting out of the engine.  
The Doctor squinted as ash spread around. A black hand crashed out through the engine. It pulled itself upwards and revealed a whole body. It was a shadow, a silhouette, but surrounded in flame.  
It stepped out, leaving fiery footsteps behind it.  
The Doctor was the only one to see it, as he was one of the few surviving or conscious.  
It looked like it was opening its mouth, and it screamed a low pitched scream. A man's scream of pain, and power.


	2. Chapter 2 - Raging Inferno

**CHAPTER TWO  
****RAGING INFERNO**

The Doctor's winced at the cry, the burning silhouette now dropped its knees. It raised a hand and curled it into a fist, sending small streams of what looked to be lava from the palm of his hand. The silhouette yelled and threw its hand, sending the lava substance straight at the Doctor. The Doctor ducked and pulled out his sonic, pointing it at the creature. He began reading the synopsis.  
'An alien species. Obviously, it's alien! Something else!'  
The alien stood up, the fire around it flaring to burning levels so hot it melted a car next to the walking shadow.  
The Doctor grabbed Rose and lifted her up so she was curled up like a child. The Doctor began running to the TARDIS, but was blocked as a wall of fire erupted in front of him.  
He skid back around and ran into a building, kicking the door open as he did. A woman, the owner of the store they were in, screamed as the Doctor burst in. He hushed her and looked out the window:  
The alien was sending lashes of flame left and right, killing firemen, ambulances, and police. All of them were set ablaze as they hit the ground, screaming in pain. The Doctor pulled out his sonic again and checked it; cradling Rose's curled up body in the other arm.  
'Male. Does that really matter? Something important!'  
He read through the data and stopped at one majorly important piece.  
'No…' he said quietly. 'No, that's—that's impossible.'  
A window shattered open across the street, the alien shooting a fireball the size of a car into the building. It began turning towards the building the Doctor and Rose were in. The Doctor swore a bit, and turned around, running out of the building's back door, telling the lady to get out before she got killed.  
He was in a back alley now, and only had two places to go.  
He turned left and began running with the speed of a Time Lord. Rose coughed and began to wake up.  
'D—Doctor?'  
'Quiet Rose, I'm keeping us alive!'  
They ducked behind the corner of a building and he sat Rose down. They were three miles away from the alien.  
'What do you remember Rose?'  
'Oh god, I've got a massive headache.'  
'ROSE! What do you remember?'  
'Well, I was checking up on you, and then, you pushed me—thanks for that by the way—and then I was knocked out by this giant explosion and… you were shielding me.'  
'That's all?'  
'I had this dream where I was in a hot air balloon and you climbed up and handed me a toy before dropping back into the TARDIS.'  
The Doctor looked at her.  
'Did you take your meds today?'  
'I'm serious!'  
'Ah, it's probably just a concussion. Try not to get those.'  
Rose looked behind the building corner. 'So… what was the thing you were running from?'  
'An alien,' the Doctor said.  
'Oh really,' Rose said, sarcastically. 'When have we ever dealt with aliens before?'  
The Doctor shook his head and said, 'No Rose, you don't understand! The alien's close to me, and I mean extremely close.'  
'What was he then? Someone in your family tree? God knows what's on that tree.' Rose said, jokingly.  
'His race fought in the Last Great Time War…' the Doctor said, immediately serious.  
Rose's face dropped. 'Oh…'  
'…And they lost… because of the Daleks… and the Time Lords.'  
'So, are we going to have to… you know… like… end the race?'  
'No,' the Doctor said. 'No more races will die because of me. No more.'  
'What'd you say?' Rose asked.  
'No more killings, is what I said.'  
'Oh,' Rose said.  
'What?'  
'Just that seems familiar is all,' Rose said.  
An explosion went off nearby and flames started spreading down the street. The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and yanked her up. 'Can you run?'  
She nodded weakly. 'I think so,' she said.  
'Come on!'  
While running, Rose thought and asked, 'Will he know it's you Doctor?'  
'He shouldn't!' the Doctor said back. 'I was in a different form during the Last Great Time War, he shouldn't be able to!'  
As they were running, flames burst out of windows. The Doctor and Rose turned. In front of them was the alien with the flames around him agitatedly spreading.  
It rose a burning, and spoke in an ashy and deep voice.  
'Time Lord…'  
Its syllables were dragged out, like a thing that was half smoker and half snake.  
The expression on the Doctor's face showed fear. His grip on Rose's hand tightened and he spoke back with the same demeanor of power as the alien.  
'Thraxi.'


End file.
